WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - The Monmouth University football team defeated Saint Francis University, 19-7 in Northeast Conference action on Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 2,209 at Kessler Field. The Hawks improve to 3-4 overall and 3-1 in the league with the win, while the Red Flash fall to 1-6 and 1-4 in the conference.
Fifth-year senior running back Bobby Giles (Burlington, N.J. /Burlington Township) paced the Monmouth offense with a season-high 116 rushing yards on 23 carries. The Hawks ran for 204 yards on 42 carries as a team, good enough for a 4.9 yard-per-carry average. The Hawks outgained SFU, 382-178 in total yards, limiting the Red Flash to 66 yards on the ground.
Monmouth and Saint Francis played a scoreless first quarter, despite the Hawks outgaining the Red Flash by a 123-1 margin. MU came away empty-handed on two first quarter drives, one when Red Flash linebacker Scott Lewis blocked Eric Spillane's (Howell, N.J. /Colts Neck) 22-yard field goal attempt with eight minutes showing, and the other when L.J. Caprio (North Caldwell, N.J. /West Essex Regional) was stopped on a fourth-and-goal at the one-yard line.
The Hawks struck first when Balial Sloan El (Pennsauken, N.J. /Roman Catholic [Pa.]) scampered 20 yards for his first career touchdown to cap off six-play, 31-yard drive, 3:35 into the second quarter. Lewis blocked Spillane's extra point attempt to keep the score at 6-0, early in the second quarter.
On the next Red Flash possession, the defense forced a punt and receiver Darvin Henderson (Ewing, N.J. /Ewing) stripped SFU returner Dane Domonkos of the ball and Jose Gumbs (Queens, N.Y. /Hebron Academy) recovered at the 20-yard line. MU marched down to the one-yard line, where Spillane knocked in his first field goal of the day, to give the Hawks a 9-0 lead with five minutes remaining in the half.
On the ensuing drive, Red Flash quarterback Timmy Meyers connected with fullback Kevin Parker for a 43-yard pass, but Saint Francis' 28-yard field goal attempt went wide left to preserve the nine point lead.
Frazier marched the Monmouth offense into the red zone on the ensuing drive, where the sophomore signal-caller connected with Matt Plautz (Harmony, Pa. /Seneca) over the middle for a 21-yard gain, coupled with a 15-yard personal foul penalty, which put the ball on the Red Flash 14-yard line. Frazier found Mike Roeder (Marlton, N.J. /Cherokee) down the left side for the touchdown, Roeder's second score of the year, to cap off an eight-play, 80-yard drive and give the Hawks a 16-0 lead heading into the half.
The only MU scoring in the second half saw Spillane convert a career-long 46-yard field goal to extend the Hawks' lead to 19-0, completing a 10-play drive.
SFU scored a late touchdown when John Kelly found receiver Omar Winston in the end zone with a 10-yard pass, finishing off an 18-yard, 90-play drive.
Frazier completed 18-of-27 passes for 178 yards and a score in the game, adding 15 rushing yards. Sloan El added 36 rushing yards, while Andrew Mandeville (Hazlet, N.J. /Raritan) contributed 22 yards on the ground.
Receiver Nick Romeo (Wayne, N.J. /Wayne Hills) led the team with six catches for 67 yards, while Plautz contributed four grabs for 51 yards.
The MU defense contributed four sacks, five tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and four pass break-ups in the contest. Gumbs finished with five tackles, one forced fumble, one interception a pass breakup and a 14 yard run.
SFU quarterback John Kelly led the team with 45 rushing yards, while Jude Yearwood ran 12 times for 35 yards. Kelly completed 10-of-21 passes for 69 yards in the contest, while Anthony Howze paced the team with five catches for 43 yards.
Matthew Parker led the Red Flash defense with 12 tackles, while Scott Lewis contributed 11 stops.
Monmouth returns to action next Saturday when it hosts Sacred Heart on Homecoming at Kessler Field at 1:00 pm.
